I’m having what my mom and I refer to as a Jack Bauer moment right now. All I can say is, “Dammit!”

After Pat Robertson endorsed Guiliani last week, my reaction was one of mostly disappointment with a little surprise thrown in. Et tu, Robertson?

Yes, I firmly believe Robertson has betrayed his Christian values and followers by publicly supporting a figure who wants to use taxpayer money to kill innocent unborn children and supports gay marriage, just to name a couple of unbiblical positions.

The National Right to Life Committee’s expected endorsement of Fred Thompson is not a betrayal. I have actually been expecting this announcement for a few months now. I was just hoping it wouldn’t happen. When it all comes down, Fred Thompson is pro-life and will make a strong president. He just isn’t the president I’d choose.

Let me be clear, I don’t hate Fred. At the same time, I don’t love him. It’s actually hard for me to like him. To me, he comes across as an overly-confident, pompous know-it-all. I don’t mean that as harshly as it sounds. I think he is most likely sincere in all of his professed beliefs and policy positions. I’m just not a huge fan.

My ideal candidate is Duncan Hunter. An individual with years of experience in Congress and a voting record without blemish. A candidate who doesn’t have any questionable statements to explain his way out of. A candidate who is down to earth and confident without being cocky. A candidate who actually comes across as an average American rather than a Hollywood starlet.

I have to admit, although I was expecting the NRLC endorsement all along, I had hoped Thompson’s latest comments regarding Terri Schindler Shiavo would take him off their list. After all, as Kathryn Jean Lopez mentions on the Corner at National Review Online, the National Right to Life Committee honored the Schindler family at their Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner.

That said, it’s gonna be Fred. What now? We cannot afford to split the pro-life vote, or more generally, the social conservative vote. If each individual social conservative were to vote for their favorite candidate — between Hunter, Huckabee, and Thompson — the results would be devastating. Guiliani would win the nomination. This is why NRLC has decided to step up and endorse a candidate during the primary.

Again, I say “dammit!” Now I have a lot of thinking to do. I highly respect NRLC, but I adore Duncan Hunter. I’ve made that rookie political mistake of falling in love with my candidate.

P.S. If you are in a similar position as I am, I would recommend reading Dr. Wanda Franz’s article, “When Common Sense is Lacking”. In some ways, it makes my blood boil. In other ways, I know she is absolutely right. This weekend, when I have more time to write, I’ll explain.